"You don't have to do this, Joe..." Gomamon said quietly, emerald eyes hardening.
Joe just shook his head. He let a finger brush against his cheek scar as he pushed his nearly useless glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Yes I do. I have a responsibility here."
"No!" Gomamon stamped his flippers (feet?) on the floor, but Digitamamon laughed.
"He has already agreed." Digitamamon leered at the small seal. "Or are you going to go against your human here?"
"I'll do whatever I have to do to protect Joe!"
Joe sat heavily on the bed, still hugging himself tight. There was a Godawful heat deep in his lungs, his heart beating erratically. That sticky-tar laughter was still ringing his his brain, a noise he would probably hear for the rest of his life, and he shuddered as some still rational part of himself screamed that this was wrong. Gomamon's burnt ruff and mohawk were standing on edge as he bristled, drawing himself up, ready to scream every last curse and foul word he knew.
"Gomamon," came his Tamer's soft voice and he stilled. Surely the boy understood now that what was happening now, what had been happening since they'd first arrived at this restaurant, was wrong. "Calm down. It's... only a week. Then we can leave."
"I see that we're all in agreement now," Digitamamon said with such finality that it felt like a tomb closing in all around Joe. The boy nodded, a simple movement that left him dizzy, and the egg Digimon made a mockingly concerned coo. "I'll be sure to send Vegiemon up with something for you. Can't have you passing out in the middle of it." And he laughed as he slammed the door behind him, bolting it shut once again.
"Damnit, Joe," Gomamon practically sobbed. "What's wrong with you?" He rubbed his eyes, damned tears leaving burning hot trails down his cheeks. "We need to leave before he hurts you again."
"It'll be fine," Joe responded dully. He sounded so hollow, like everything he'd ever been was gone, leaving only a shell behind. "I doubt anything can hurt worse than solid fire. Right?"
Gomamon pouted and looked at his blurry claws. He couldn't let himself look up and risk Joe seeing the defeat in them, then the tall boy might just think what he was doing was right. Gomamon reached deep within himself, pushing absolute love and adoration through the bond only to his the same icy wall as before. No matter. Once his Tamer came to his senses, it would all be there for him.
"One week," Gomamon agreed after a lifetime of silence. He spit on the ground, trying to wash away the taste of those words. "But after that, we're leaving. No matter what Digitamamon says!"
"Thanks, buddy," Joe said, a hint of his old self peeking through. He moved off the bed, sitting on his knees next to his partner and pulled the seal into his lap, giving him an unsure hug. Gomamon beamed, a relaxed smile beginning to stretch across his mouth when he pulled back with a hiss of pain. There was a lump under Joe's shirt where his tag lay, the golden necklace now pulsing with a sickly green-gray color, like tarnished silver. It was painfully hot against the Digimon's skin and he wondered how it seemed that Joe didn't feel that disgusting heat, or see that loathsome light. "I'm glad you understand that I need to do this."
'But I really don't...' the poor creature thought. Unbridled, the memories of SkullGreymon marched before his eyes. The gnashing of skeletal teeth against the controlled Greymon, the blood that flowed from under Garurumon's fur, the terrified shrieking of Birdramon. It was making Gomamon's stomach churn and he knew the source of those disturbing thoughts was that gross pulsing coming from Joe's Crest. He could almost hear it throbbing like a slow, steady heartbeat, sending trembling pulses over their bond that shook him to his core.
They stayed like that for a long time, Joe so deep within his own darkness he was struggling to breathe and Gomamon wanting desperately to console, but unable to get close due to the Crest's molten-lead heat. Even when the door unlocked, the sound of Vegiemon bouncing into the room, and the smell of food couldn't part them from their meager comfort.
"All right, you two," the yellow root growled, the sickly-sweet stench from his beak washing over them. A tentacle slithered between them and Gomamon felt himself being pulled away, flung to the ground roughly. "Eat up, or else Digitamamon says he'll personally make sure he's getting his money's worth with you."
Joe swallowed hard and made a face, trying to shove away that thought before it could form in his mind. The bowl was shoved in his hands, thin water disguised as soup with a thick layer of fat congealed in a hardened layer on top, and he heard Gomamon cry out as the so-called meal he'd been handed found itself dumped over his ears. The seal was wiping his face desperately, trying to smear away the grease that was covering his eyes, clinging to his fur, and preventing him from seeing properly.
"Tell you what," Vegiemon said, belching out a new wave of sweetness that made Joe's mind fuzzy. Or maybe that was just hunger. A tentacle wrapped loosely around his waist as the Digimon leaned in uncomfortably close. "I was talking with the boss man, you see. He says we can work something out." Those teeth were gnashing terrifyingly close to his ear. "Says he'll take a trade for my paycheck. Instead of adding to your time, I get a, let's call it, 'freebie'?" The vine tightened, finding the lowest button on Joe's shirt.
Joe was almost blinded by that smell. It made his stomach churn and the bile boil in his throat all the while putting him in a warm haze, as though everything the Digimon was saying made perfect sense. He felt his head twitch, barely a nod, when Vegiemon screamed, jumping back.
Gomamon spit, the taste of the other Digimon flooding his mouth. He still couldn't see too well, only knowing where to bite from the sound of his unintelligible whispers, so he couldn't dodge as a tentacle smashed into him. He bounced across the room, snarling at nothingness, and crying out, "Joe! Joe, don't!"
But that smell, that accursed reek like an overripe melon, was filling the room. Even the seal was finding it hard to resist being lulled into a faux security even as he heard the rustle of clothes. He couldn't see through the greasy haze in his eyes except for the shadows that lay back on the uncomfortable floor. He could feel it in his very soul, the drug-like veil that made even the worst mistakes seem reasonable, even right. His claws clicked on the floor, and his grease-heavy ears tried to find the sound of his Tamer, hearing the now-familiar noises that made him ill.
Joe could feel the foul touch invading him, pain slithering throughout his body. His eyes were glazed and he looked through the blurry crack in his warped glasses at the ceiling. The stench that enveloped all his senses couldn't prevent him from that overwhelming darkness and he felt a tear roll down his cheek, dripping onto the floor as Vegiemon growled eagerly above him. His shirt had been ripped slightly, and there was a button now under his back, digging into his shoulder and he focused all his attention on that, trying to forget what was happening before it turned into memories.
There was a disgusting noise, and an even more disgusting feeling, as Vegiemon pulled away suddenly. His beak clicked as he laughed, cleaning his tentacles on what remained of Joe's shirt. "I think that takes care of today's paycheck. Now, clean up. I think Digitamamon's just about ready for you."
Joe curled onto his side, shuddering and swallowing his sobs. Vegiemon spat at Gomamon as he passed, that same smell wafting across his nose. The still-blinded seal lashed out with his claws, but he missed, falling forward in a starving heap.
Joe..." he whimpered, fighting away the familiar warmth that foretold a de-evolution. He would rather starve as Gomamon than rest as Bukamon.
"Don't take too long," Vegiemon laughed, reaching the door. "Or else you might not make enough tonight."
A/N: Sorry about the late posting! I might be a little sporadic over the next few weeks, but rest assured, I will finish this one!